(no subject)
Jun. 26th, 2006 05:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
afmetalsmithThe signet ring is coming along well! *knock on wood*
Today I got the setting and the enamel to fit each other- I worked on both, and so had to re-fire the enamel because it chipped a bit along the edges where I ground it down. Fortunately, firing tend to improve enamels, at least up to a point- especially transparents; they get clearer and clearer. It's also giving the red more opportunity to mix with the yellows and oranges, so it's now not pinkish at all!
Once the enamel fit nicely into the setting, I lowered the walls quite a bit since they were very high. After another check, I put the inner sleeve piece into the outer skin, and flared both sides of it so it meets the skin very snugly. This will make for a more attractive (hopefully invisible!) solder seam that's also much stronger. I'll do the soldering tomorrow.
I also worked more on the baguette setting, to some effect- but not quite enough. I need to find my notes, I think. I ended up spraying the disclosing spray on it, and tomorrow I'll try putting the stone in and seeing where it's binding. It's sure not obvious!
This particular approach is a sort of misbegotten combination of bezel and channel setting- hence the trickiness. Because the setting surrounds the stone in part, access to the interior is tough; because it's based on channel setting, the seat has to be cut rather than built in, as is the easiest way for anything but round and oval stones in bezel settings, and a good choice even for those. Anyway, so this technique will look cool, but it's taking me an unconscionable amount of time for 1 stone! And the snowflake pendant I designed and am slowly progressing on has SIX of the things (over 30 stones in total)! Eep. I'd best get better at it... :)
Today I got the setting and the enamel to fit each other- I worked on both, and so had to re-fire the enamel because it chipped a bit along the edges where I ground it down. Fortunately, firing tend to improve enamels, at least up to a point- especially transparents; they get clearer and clearer. It's also giving the red more opportunity to mix with the yellows and oranges, so it's now not pinkish at all!
Once the enamel fit nicely into the setting, I lowered the walls quite a bit since they were very high. After another check, I put the inner sleeve piece into the outer skin, and flared both sides of it so it meets the skin very snugly. This will make for a more attractive (hopefully invisible!) solder seam that's also much stronger. I'll do the soldering tomorrow.
I also worked more on the baguette setting, to some effect- but not quite enough. I need to find my notes, I think. I ended up spraying the disclosing spray on it, and tomorrow I'll try putting the stone in and seeing where it's binding. It's sure not obvious!
This particular approach is a sort of misbegotten combination of bezel and channel setting- hence the trickiness. Because the setting surrounds the stone in part, access to the interior is tough; because it's based on channel setting, the seat has to be cut rather than built in, as is the easiest way for anything but round and oval stones in bezel settings, and a good choice even for those. Anyway, so this technique will look cool, but it's taking me an unconscionable amount of time for 1 stone! And the snowflake pendant I designed and am slowly progressing on has SIX of the things (over 30 stones in total)! Eep. I'd best get better at it... :)
